Skagit Audubon Society

Welcome to Skagit Audubon Programs

General membership meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 pm.
In person meetings are typically presented at the Padilla Bay Interpretive Center, 10441 Bayview-Edison Rd., Mt. Vernon. Other meetings may be available by Zoom only. Please check the specific program listing below for the time and location of the current meeting. Some programs offer “watch parties” - see newsletter for details.

SCAM ALERT! Our monthly programs on Zoom are always FREE! Any prompt during registration on Zoom to collect any financial or payment information is a scam (and out of our control).

MONTHLY PROGRAM

Please join Dr. Kaeli Swift, Corvid researcher and author, as she explores the unique behaviors of the American Crow that make them so appealing to watch and study.  Dr. Swift earned her PhD in Avian Ecology from the University of Washington where she completed both her Master’s thesis and PhD dissertation “Wild American crows use funerals to learn about danger”. 

She currently has been conducting research on a small endemic songbird called the Tinian monarch for the past three years on the remote Pacific island of Tinian. You can find her blog at: https://corvidresearch.blog.

This month’s meeting will be remote only on Zoom. No in-person attendance. Pre-registration is required and after you register, you will receive an email with a link to sign in at the time the event begins. To attend, please register at: https://shorten.ly/SASJan26 

If the registration page does not immediately open, you should be redirected to it within a few seconds. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU! 

·       We will let members in from the waiting room 5 minutes prior to the meeting time (7:00 pm). A brief business meeting is held prior to the presentation.

·       Questions or registration problems? Please email programs@skagitaudubon.org.

2025-2026 UPCOMING PROGRAMS, from Ann Kramer

Join us for a season of interesting and energetic speakers and topics

February 10, 2026 George Armistead ZOOM A Birder's Evolution: Beyond Your Spark Bird What are some of the common features that draw people to birding, how that interest ignites into passion and even obsession, and what birders and communities get back from their birding. Author: Better Birding, Field Guide to Birds of Pennsylvania

March 10, 2026  Bob Gillespie IN-PERSON Introduction to Beneficial Insects or Introduction to Pollinator Diversity. A talk with displays will cover the diversity of native bees, flies, beetles, butterflies and moths that pollinate native plants and the plants we depend on for a complete diet.

April 14, 2026  Paul Bannick IN-PERSON (at SKAGIT STATION) Woodpecker: A Year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers. The outcome of Paul’s lifelong interest and study of Woodpeckers, their habits, ranges and over 200 never-before-seen images. A bonanza of woodpecker information and images. Author: Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls

May 12, 2026  Kevin Zobrist IN-PERSON Know your Native Trees Learn about the most common native trees around Skagit County. We’ll cover identification as well as growth traits and habitats. Author: Native Trees of Western Washington

June 9, 2026  Peter Cavanaugh IN-PERSON: How Birds Fly (POTLUCK)  Our year-end member program.  From take-off to landing, Peter unveils the complex evolution and physics of bird flight. Author: How Birds Fly

Legacy Program Recordings:

November 2025: “Wild Stories From the History of Bird Migration Research” presented by Rebecca Heisman, PhD is now available at: https://youtu.be/WUSaRZAsN_s.

May 2025: “Salmon and the American Dipper” presented by Christopher Tonra, PhD is now available at: https://youtu.be/CSdGwlBeCiY

April 2025: “Birds and Climate Change” presented by Steve Hampton, PhD is now available at: https://youtu.be/ZnYQ5yTBc64

March 2025: “White-headed Woodpecker – 20 Years of Research”, presented by Jeff Kozma, is available for viewing here: https://youtu.be/WIPeKj6KDyU

January 2025: The recording of the Jan. program, “Baby Birds: An Artist Looks Into the Nest”, presented by Julie Zickefoose is now available for viewing here: https://youtu.be/HEaEKDFxQTc

November 2024 :  If you missed the Nov. 12th presentation “Adaptive Estuary Restoration of the Port Susan Bay Reserve” by Amber Parmenter, Stewardship Manager for The Nature Conservancy, it may be viewed at the following link:  https://youtu.be/rnZmw9oRJ0U Please also see this short fact sheet on the restoration project at the Port Susan Bay Reserve.

https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/port-susan-bay-fact-sheet.pdf

May 2024 Pacific Flyway Shorebird Conservation by River Gates